Labor Department Reports Claims Fall to 209,000
Labor Department reports weekly initial claims of 209,000 for the week ending Jan. 24, 2026, slightly above FactSet's 205,000 estimate.
Overview
The Labor Department reported on Jan. 29, 2026, that applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending Jan. 24 fell by 1,000 to 209,000, and the prior week's figure was revised up by 10,000.
The reading matters because hiring remained tepid in December 2025 when employers added just 50,000 jobs and the unemployment rate slipped to 4.4% from 4.5%, Labor Department data show.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected 205,000 initial claims, and economists said the 209,000 print amid layoff announcements from UPS, Amazon and Dow has intensified debate over the labor market's resilience.
Labor Department data show businesses and government agencies posted 7.1 million open jobs at the end of November 2025, down from 7.4 million in October 2025.
The January jobs report is due Jan. 31, 2026, with analysts surveyed by FactSet forecasting another 50,000 payroll gain and economists warning the labor market could remain soft.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as a cooling labor market by foregrounding weaker hiring and using evaluative words like 'ho-hum,' 'tepid,' and 'sluggish.' They emphasize layoff headlines and policy causes (e.g., Trump’s tariffs, past Fed rate hikes), quoting data points and trend labels ('low hire, low fire') to suggest ongoing economic softening.
Sources (3)
FAQ
The previous week's initial claims were revised up by 10,000 to 210,000.
The 209,000 claims were slightly above FactSet economists' expectation of 205,000.
Employers added just 50,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.4% from 4.5%.
Analysts expect another 50,000 payroll gains.
Job openings fell to 7.1 million at the end of November 2025 from 7.4 million in October.
History
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